As if it weren’t enough to pass on our good looks to the geeklets, we’d love to mould their musical taste too, or at least make sure they don’t embarrass themselves by saying "Elvis who?" when they get older.
For us this started in the womb, with a nightly performance of Debussy’s "Clair de lune" and Barry’s "Midnight Cowboy Theme" (guess who chose which) delivered via a pillow speaker
. Thinking back I should have sprayed it white and patented it as the iBump. Chris Radcliff has the slightly older kids covered in his Music for Little Geeks post (I love TMBG too!) but what about tunes for the youngest milk-guzzlers?
Unsurprisingly an i-product is available, the iCrib – a combined nightlight/ipod dock that mounts on the side of the cot piping forth whatever you decide is appropriate. I’m sure it does a bang-up job too, but a set of pc speakers would likely produce the same effect, though not nearly as fashionable. Personally I use an iCat, wired to the PC in the next room with the music controlled via bluetooth from my cellphone using the ControlFreak application.
Whichever solution you choose, the hardest part is definitely selecting the right music. Something soothing obviously, to avoid the crib turning into old macdonald’s mosh pit, but not necessarily classical. I came upon the ideal thing browsing parenthacks one day – the Rockabye Baby! CDs – these are lullaby versions of music from artists such as U2, Metallica, Coldplay and The Beatles. The interpretations really have to be heard to be believed, and having been very skeptical initially we spent a giggly half-hour on the manufacturer’s website listening to all the different sample clips before finally deciding on The Eagles (Sadly there’s no Willie Nelson CD available as yet).
Anyone got any geekier ideas for a wired-for-sound nursery or baby-friendly tunes?
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